Welcome to the Piano World Piano ForumsOver 2 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

I'm a newcomer to Piano World, primarily on here to gain insight into purchasing a Kawai. There have been tons of useful information in the forums. My thanks go out to those of you who posted helpful material!

I'm a singer in the South Florida area looking to upgrade from my simple Kranich and Bach to a Kawai RX-2 or RX-3. I know they're being snatched up and have been keeping an eye out for one manufactured after 2002 (which, I believe is where the newer millennium action series starts?). I would consider a new one if the price was right but hopeful to find used.

I've been in touch with a piano dealer who has a factory reconditioned RX-3, 1998 from Kawai for <$11k. I feel the dealer is reputable, small town, Central states area (probably why not asking more). Comes with a guarantee if not satisfied. Wanted to know if anyone felt this is a good price for this model year, provided it's in good condition, yada yada. "OR" do you feel I should hold out hoping for a newer model with the millennium action that "might" be reasonably priced (based on what I'm reading $14k or higher???).

I appreciate your expertise and input since I'm clueless and need direction And apologize in advance if I've asked something repetitive to another posting.

Hello Isaac,I would advise you to consider the 1998 Kawai RX3 primarily on its sound, touch response and general condition rather than whether or not it has the Millenium III action. Every RX3 will be a little different and especially with used pianos, the condition of the piano, its qualities as a musical instrument and of course the price, would be for me, the most important considerations.

The RX3 is an excellent piano and given sensible humidity control, is a most stable piano in tuning and is a delight to play.

There's some Kawai tech manuals out there that walk techs through voicing the RX series. Robert45 turned me on to those. Now I'm going to plug him here a second because he helped me tremendously how to understand the RX sound. I think he has a very special insight to these models. He can articulate, better than anyone I've spoken to, what's going on with them. He and his tech have gone to great lengths, over many months (years?) to obtain the voicing for his RX. I had my tech read the emails Robert45 sent me, just so we would be on the same page as they are.....lol. In your thread, you asked for expertice, he gets my vote in that arena.

As for pricing, it's all over the place. There's so many factors to consider being the RX line is going away. Your observation confirms my theory; there's more than a few people wanting to snatch the last new ones from dealers. You did catch what Steve said, the factory doesn't recondition pianos. A new one has a blank warranty card, period.

You've done your homework and realize that after 04 you'll get the millenium action which seems most desirable. Several of us recently purchased RX's and I believe everyone is happy (including owners who've had them for some time now).

Happy hunting and keep us posted. If there's anything you would like to ask me offline, feel free to PM, it's no bother........blob

The Millennium-III actions went into production in the RX grands in 2004. Most people with experience playing them do agree that they perform better and are just nicer feeling, so there is validity in looking for one.

The Kawai factory does not do reconditioning. Kawai America sometimes does repair and recondition shipping damaged pianos and such, but these are only sold through authorized Kawai dealers in the US or Canada. So if the dealer you are working with is an authorized Kawai dealer, their claim could be valid. But do check on the Kawai America web site to verify!

Good luck - it is not easy to find a particular brand and model used, but they are out there. And do resist the temptation to buy a used piano without playing it and having it checked! There are too many risks involved - wait for the right piano to come available in your area, or ask you Kawai dealer to check into whether any repaired pianos are available from Kawai.

Well, I'm also a noob here, but assuming that RX-3 is in excellent shape, doesn't have any weird history, < $11K seems like a pretty good price, if not very good price. I found a 2006'ish RX-2 for $10K which was on my short list when I was buying.

It sounds like you're buying this online from another state without seeing it first?

Everyone, you have been awesome! I appreciate your courtesy in giving VERY helpful advice. I'm in no hurry so I'm going to hold a bit on this due the "recondition" statement the company made. I'm hopeful, however, an RX2 or 3 will pop up at some point in the coming months for under $13k, which is what I have saved to make this happen.